From left, standing, are Bob Cratchit (David Hoebener), Fred (Landon Jasinski), Jacob Marley’s ghost (Noah Tuah), The Spirit of Christmas Present (Mat Schuster), the Spirit of Christmas Past (McKenna Campbell), The Spirit of Christmas Future (Mason Maring). Seated: Ebenezer Scrooge (Zachary Wolfe), Mrs. Cratchit (Gianna Douglas).

While “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens has been adapted into more than 100 versions for stage and screen, you don’t want to miss Westfield Academy and Central School District’s dinner/theater performance Friday and Saturday.

The pre-show dinner is at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30. The district has offered an annual dinner theater under the direction of WACS music teacher Kent Knappenberger for 25 years. This will be the fourth time the students have performed “A Christmas Carol.”

“Our set designer and a parent of three Westfield students, Hyla Stellhorn, suggested to me many years ago that we consider making A Christmas Carol a tradition,” Knappenberger said. “We have individuals in the show who have had a family member in every production we have done. That is one of the beautiful things about life in a smaller school district and community.”

Knappenberger said that the first time WACS performed A Christmas Carol, he used the exact language of Charles Dickens in his script. “For this most recent version I went over the entire script, thinking, ‘Would the average American 12-year-old understand this?'” Knappenberger said. “I rewrote the dialogue using English that is more in our vernacular. Also, I may have exercised poetic license in humorous elements of the story.”

Knappenberger said there are about 60 cast members and a half dozen crew members. Also, he has several student assistant directors – Gianna Douglas, Devon Hood, Felicity Huyek and Landon Jasinski – as well as a student teacher, Dan Novak.

Knappenberger said that the dinner theater used to be performed only by members of the Westwinds singing group. “This year, I have many kids who aren’t part of that organization asking me if they could participate. So, I said ‘Sure!'” he said. “Also, as this is the 25th annual dinner theater production, I decided to involve a very large group of members of our hand bell ensemble and also feature our school’s McClurg Street String Band.”

Knappenberger said the students are incredibly enthused about the production. “They have been up for trying anything!” he said. “We have kids dancing who have never danced, kids playing instruments that they maybe studied for a while, but never performed in public, and actors that will be doing their first big roles.”

Knappenberger said that one of the greatest joys of the production is watching the students “take their role, no matter how large or small and perform it as part of a larger story. Our Scrooge (Zac Wolfe) has a real good grip on this,” he said. “We also have some great action and singing from many of our leads.”

There were several difficulties to overcome in this production, Knappenberger said. “Some of our leads have an immense number of lines to learn. We’re coordinating all of the instrumentalists on stage, which is a bit of an adventure,” he said. “Also, we almost never shut the curtain in this show. The action is always going on somewhere, which means we really have to develop a good sense of flow.”

Knappenberger says it’s hard to believe there have been 25 years of dinner theaters, but they are all special. “I know I could name all 25 off the top of my head,” he said. “We wanted to do something special, so we’re putting all these different groups on stage and doing a show that is uniquely Westfields.”

The dinner theater ticket is $25 for adults and offers a choice of meatloaf, penne pasta alfredo with broccoli or honey glazed chicken thighs. Kids meals (a pizza boat) are available for $10. Tickets for the show without a meal are $8 for adults, $5 for seniors, students and veterans if purchased in advance, or $6, if purchased at the door.